Effective October 1, 2025, principal investigators (PIs), co-PIs, and senior/key personnel who apply to or have federal sponsors must annually complete research security training. Any researcher who contributes in a substantive, meaningful way to the scientific development or execution of the project is considered senior/key personnel and has the training requirement.
The training must be completed prior to submitting a proposal and annually during the period of a federal award.
The training requirement stems from National Security Presidential Memoradum-33 (NSPM-33) and the CHIPS and Science Act and is enacted by federal agencies.
Who Is Required to Take the Training: principal investigators (PIs), co-PIs, and senior/key personnel who apply to or have federal sponsors. Any researcher who contributes in a substantive, meaningful way to the scientific development or execution of the project is considered senior/key personnel and has the training requirement.
How Often is Training Required?: Annually during the period of a federal award
When Does Training Need to Be Completed?: Prior to submitting a proposal and annually during the period of a federal award
How Long Does Training Take?: Approximately 1 hour
How Do I Access the Training?: The training is available in MyTrack Learning.
Be sure to advance the training module until you see the certificate of completion at the very end of the module, as shown in the screenshot below. Otherwise, MyTrack may not record the training as complete.
Required Annual Certification for PIs on NSF, DOE, and USDA Awards
Beginning October 10, 2025, the National Science Foundation (NSF) requires PIs, co-PIs, and senior/key personnel to certify in research.gov that they have completed research security training in the previous 12 months and re-certify annually for the duration of the award.
Beginning October 7, 2025, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) requires PIs and co-PIs to certify that they have completed research security training in the previous 12 months and re-certify annually for the duration of the award.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) similarly requires PIs, co-PIs, and senior/key personnel to certify in research.gov that they have completed research security training in the previous 12 months and re-certify annually for the duration of the award.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will be re-releasing their requirements for certification soon.
These certifications are in addition to the annual certification in research.gov for NSF, NIH, and USDA PIs and co-PIs to indicate they are not party to a malign foreign talent recruitment program.
Please carefully read all certifications. If you have questions or concerns, contact your SPS post-award team.
Research Security Training for Subawardees and Contractors
The subawardee PI, co-PI, and senior/key personnel need to complete research security training, as does any other subaward researcher who contributes in a substantive, meaningful way to the scientific development or execution of the project.
Contractors who contribute in a substantive, meaningful way to the scientific development or execution of the project also need to complete research security training. Some contractors will meet this definition and others won’t.
Subawardees and contractors can complete the one-hour, condensed version of the research security training offered by the SECURE Center. They should print and retain the certificate of completion at the end. DGAs should request the certificate of completion and upload it into the subaward or contractor section in EPCS.
Please note that any UO researcher with a Duck ID must complete the research security training via MyTrack Learning. The below link is only for subawardees and contractors.